Dispenser for hot and cold beverages and food

ABSTRACT

A foldable beverage dispenser. The dispenser has an outer shell with a front wall, a pair of sidewalls, a back wall, a top, a bottom, and a sloped front wall joining between the top and said front wall. The sloped front wall has an opening therein. A flexible bag with an aperture is provided within the outer shell. A fitment is secured to the aperture and the opening, defining a fluid path and supporting the flexible bag. A plurality of upper flaps extending from the sidewalls, the front wall and the back wall, with one of the upper flaps forming a portion of the top when folded, one of the upper flaps forming a portion of the sloped front. A plurality of lower flaps extending from the sidewalls, the front wall and the sidewalls to form the bottom.

RELATED APPLICATION

This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) on U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/556,712 filed on Mar. 26,2004, which is herein incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to a bag-in-carton dispenser forhot and cold beverages, food or liquids, and more particularly relatesto an improved bag-in-carton dispenser that is convenient for storageand for transport of multiple servings of beverages or food.

ART BACKGROUND

It has become quite common to use rigid bottles, containers or canteensto store and transport beverages or food, whether to a picnic in thepark, to a ball game or just to the outdoors. To keep the beverage orfood at a desired temperature until serving, containers with insulationmaterial, such as vacuum, foam or other non-conductive materials, havebeen used. However, these rigid bottles or canteens are not entirelyconvenient, since the users still have to lug the empty bottles homeafter use. Worse yet, these rigid containers or bottles tend to take upspace in transport or storage, even when they are not in use. Thus, itwould be desirable to have a container that is both effective inmaintaining proper temperature and convenient for transport and storage.

With the growing popularity of gourmet coffee or gourmet food, peoplehave come to enjoy taking multiple servings of gourmet coffee or food totheir offices, homes or meetings. To accommodate this new trend, gourmetshops have provided “loaner” thermos containers for the customers'convenience. However, these containers, which are generally bulky andheavy, even when they are empty, tend to take up more precious storagespace in the gourmet shop. Also, the conventional containers tend not tohave the convenient “form factor” to fit with the brewing machine'sfluid path, adding to the frustration of the workers. Finally, the factthat a customer has to return the container to the shop after use isinconvenient, for both the customer and the gourmet shop, since the shopis now left with the task of having to clean the container. Therefore,it would be desirable to have a dispenser that is transport- andstorage-friendly, and yet is cost-effective to be disposed of after use.

Some U.S. Patents have attempted to address the aforementioned needs.U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,715,992, 5,909,841 and 6,196,452, issued to Andrews Sr.et al. (collectively “Andrews”) disclose a beverage container includingan outer shell, a flexible bag within the shell, a mouth and a handle.While Andrews provides a collapsible container, its assembly is awkwardand confusing, due to the handle's assembly. Also, Andrews does notprovide a way to conduct effective heat management. Finally, the formfactor of Andrews' containers requires the workers to first tilt thecontainer 90 degrees upright in order to fill the beverage, and then 90degrees back for carrying and transport.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,228,011, issued to Takemura et al., also discloses abag-in-carton dispenser for carrying liquid. However, Takemura does notdiscloses an effective heat management methodology either, since theinner bag is adhered to the inside surface of the carton. Also,Takemura's bag-in-carton is not designed to help the workers at thegourmet shop readily assemble the carton on an “as needed” basis, thusmaking it less storage-friendly. Takemura further lacks a handleassembly, making it less useful when it is used with larger amount ofliquid, especially when the liquid may be hot.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,375,040, issued to Allanson et al., discloses adisposable storage and dispensing carafe, with a rigid frame. From theviewpoint of the workers at the gourmet shop, it is not easily assembleddue to number of incongruent components involved. The use of plasticframe increases the cost of goods, while making the assembly lessuser-friendly. Also, the carafe is not stackable, thus it unsuitable forshipping and storage. As with other attempts, the carafe does notprovide an adequate heat management solution, since it is not an airtight structure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A foldable beverage dispenser is disclosed. The dispenser has an outershell with a front wall, a pair of sidewalls, a back wall, a top, abottom, and a sloped front wall joining between the top and said frontwall. The sloped front wall has an opening therein. A flexible bag withan aperture is provided within the outer shell. A fitment is secured tothe aperture and the opening, defining a fluid path and supporting theflexible bag. A plurality of upper flaps extending from the sidewalls,the front wall and the back wall, with one of the upper flaps forming aportion of the top when folded, one of the upper flaps forming a portionof the sloped front. A plurality of lower flaps extending from thesidewalls, the front wall and the sidewalls to form the bottom.

The foldable dispenser may be provided with or without an add-on handle.The foldable beverage dispenser may be used with a flexible bag within.Additionally, insulation material, such as a foam sleeve, may be used toprovide temperature management. The dispenser may further be used inconnection with a self-heating or self-cooling mechanism so that theuser may prepare a meal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1(A) and (B) depict a perspective view of an exemplary dispensercarton in its assembled form in accordance with the present invention.In FIG. 1(B), a cap 132 is shown to locking the nozzle at the opening135 of the outer shell 10.

FIGS. 2(A) and (B) depict a top plan view of an exemplary dispensercarton in accordance with the present invention in its assembled form.FIG. 2(A) depicts a top side 120 with anchoring openings 125 for anadd-on handle. FIG. 2(B) depicts a top side 120 without the anchoringopenings.

FIG. 3 depicts a side plan view of an exemplary dispenser carton in itsassembled form in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4 depicts a front plan view of an exemplary dispenser carton in itsassembled form in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 5 depicts a rear plan view of an exemplary dispenser carton in itsassembled form in accordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 6(A)-(H) depict the assembly of an outer shell of an exemplarydispenser carton in accordance with the present invention, beginningwith a cardboard cutout 60.

FIG. 7 depicts another embodiment of an exemplary cardboard cutout 62 ofthe dispenser carton in accordance with the present invention, which canbe assembled into the outer shell.

FIG. 8 depicts a simplified diagram of an exemplary foil pouch for usewith the outer shell.

FIG. 9 depicts a simplified diagram of an exemplary foam insulator foruse with the outer shell.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A dispenser for beverages or food is disclosed. While the descriptionthat follows makes reference to filling the dispenser with a beverage,such as coffee, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the artthat the present invention may be applicable to both beverage and food,hot or cold, as well as various forms of commercial or industrialliquids. Also, the same or similar elements in the following drawingsare identified using the same reference numerals, or differentiated byan additional alphabetic notation appended to the numerical notation,e.g. “12 a”, “12 b”.

FIGS. 1-5 illustrate different views of an exemplary dispenser carton inaccordance with the present invention, which is shown in its assembledform with an outer shell 10 only. The outer shell 10, when assembled,provides a folded, glued, collapsible, corrugated structure that servesas an inexpensive, unique, re-usable dispenser for hot and coldbeverages. As shown, the outer shell has a sidewall 100, a front wall110, a top side 120, an angled or sloped front wall 130 joining the topside and the front wall, a bottom side 140 and a back wall 150.

An opening 135 is formed on the angled front wall 130 for engaging aspout fitment, which extends from a flexible bag (illustrated in FIG. 8)within the outer shell 10. The spout fitment has multiple rims aroundits neck so that the rims can grab onto the edges of opening 135. Theopening 135, upon assembly, is generally of the shape of an oversizedupper opening overlapping an undersized lower opening (as illustrated inFIG. 6 (A), 136). Such “over-under” combination allows the spout fitmentto first inserted through the upper, oversized opening. Then the spoutfitment's rim can be secured to the lower, undersized opening, thusproviding a point of support for the flexible bag inside the shell 10,as well as preventing the fitment from sliding inward. The spout fitmentcan then be closed by a cap 132 with a matching inside rim.

Referring to FIG. 5, the back wall 150 preferably has two openingsformed thereon: a handle opening 153 and an access door 155. The handleopening 153 may be formed by punching in, or cutting out, a definedoutline so that it allows a user's fingers to pick up the dispensercarton through the handle opening 153. This handle opening 153 providesessentially a “handle-less” handle for the dispenser carton, thus makingsimpler assembly and “form factor.” The other opening 155 on the backwall 150 may be a punch-in or cut-out, re-closeable access door toenable a user to access an activation control of a self-heating bag (notshown) inside the outer shell 10. On the top side 120 are two anchoropenings 125, which are formed by either cut-out or punch-in method, forattaching an add-on handle 127 to the dispenser carton. Alternately, asshown in FIG. 2 (B), such add-on handle 127 may not need to be providedon the top side 120, since the handle opening 153 on the back wall 150is already designed to provide a solid grip for the user.

The “form factor” of the dispenser carton in accordance with the presentinvention, as generally defined by the outer shell 10, has a narrowerfront wall 110 and back wall 100, in comparison to the sidewalls 100.The angled front wall 130 is preferably at a 45-degree incline, so thatcoffee from a brewing machine's spout can flow into the dispenser cartonthrough the opening 135 in the carton's normal upright position. Ofcourse, the design and location of the opening 135 can be customized tofit any clearance between the spout of the brewing machine and countertop.

To hold beverage or food for an extended period of time, the outer shell10 is preferably fitted with an inner bag. FIG. 8 illustrates oneexemplary embodiment of a flexible bag, in the form of a foil pouch, foruse with the outer shell 10. Such a bag can be a self-heating bag,self-cooling bag or a temperature-neutral bag, depending on theapplication. Such foil pouches or bags may be purchased from ScholleCorporation of Irvine, Calif., www.scholle.com. A self-heating bag hasbeen disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,707, entitled “SELF HEATINGINDIVIDUAL MEAL PACKAGE,” issued to the inventor of the presentapplication. The content of this US Patent is hereby incorporated byreference as if fully set forth herein. To ensure proper temperaturemanagement, an insulation layer can be provided between the flexible bagand the outer shell 10. The insulation layer can be a laminated layer onthe inside of the outer shell, covering essentially six inside faces, ora sleeve made of an insulation layer. One exemplary foam insulator forproviding insulation between the outer shell 10 and the flexible bag isillustrated in FIG. 9. The lamination layer can also be affixed to thecardboard concurrently with the formation of the cardboard blank, whilethe sleeve may be inserted when the carton is erected. For self-coolingapplications, plastic ice cubes or ice balls can be placed between thebag and the outer shell.

FIGS. 6(A)-(H) illustrate the assembly of an outer shell 10 from anexemplary cardboard blank. It should be noted that the cardboard blankmay take on various initial forms, but still have the same eventualstructure of the present invention after assembly. What is illustratedherein is merely an example of one of the preferred designs for acardboard blank. Currently, a corrugated cardboard material with E-Flutegrade (i.e. 90 flues/linear foot) is used, although cardboard materialsof different Flute profiles, and even plastic materials, may be used forthe construction of the outer shell 10.

As shown in FIG. 6(A), the cardboard blank 60 defines a front panel 110,a right and left side panels 100 (a) and (b), a rear panel 150. Fromthese main panels, several upper and lower flaps are extended. The topside of the carton 60 is formed by overlaying an outside flap 120, aleft top flap 121, a right top flap 122, and an inside top flap 123. Thebottom side of the carton 60 is formed by lower flaps 140 extended fromthe left and right side panels 100 (a) and (b), the front panel 110 andthe rear panel 150. An angled front wall is formed by a section joiningbetween the outside top flap 120 and the front panel 110, and a sectionextending from the inside top flap 123.

The opening on the angled front wall is formed by the nozzle hole 135and the inside nozzle hole 136 overlapping each other, which togetherprovide an oversized opening overlapping an undersized opening. Thecut-out or punch-in lines for the outside back handle 153 and the accessdoor 155 are defined on the rear panel 150, as well as on the glue jointpanel 101 with the inside access door 156 and inside back handle 154defined therein. If add-on handle is to be used, the anchor openings 125(a), (b) and (c) are defined by the holes on the left top flap 121,outside top flap 120 and inside top flap 123.

FIG. 6(B) shows the cardboard blank 60 in a flat and unfolded state.FIG. 6(C) shows the automatic bottom 140 folded. FIG. 6(D) shows themain panels folded with the glue joint 101 in position to meet rear sidepanel 100. FIG. 6(E) shows the carton erected in an upright position,where the front wall, the back wall, the sidewalls and the bottom sidehave been formed. FIG. 6(F) shows the inside top flap 123 folded inposition. FIG. 6(G) shows the right and left top flaps 121, 122 foldedover. FIG. 6(H) shows the top front flap 120 folded over with an add-onhandle 127 ready to be inserted.

If the add-on handle 127 is not needed, no anchor openings 125 are notprovided on the top flap 121, 122, as shown in another embodimentillustrated by FIG. 7. As shown in FIG. 7, the top flaps 120 (B) and 123(B) are now assembled in a reversed order, where the inside top flap 120(B) at the front wall 110 (B) is first folded down, and the outside topflap 123 (13) comes from the back wall 150 (1B) thereafter.Additionally, to provide a buffer between the hot liquid inside theflexible and the user's fingers hooking in the handle opening 153, theinside top flap 120 (B) may be extended so that the extended flap 128can be inserted into the inside of the back wall 150 (B) first. Then theoutside top flap 123 (B) is folded from the back wall 150 (B) to engagethe spout fitment at the angled front wall. A fold line 127 may beprovided on the extended flap 128, which reaches into the handle opening153 (B), so that the extended flap 128 does not obstruct the user'sfingers. Access door 155 is still provided for the activation control,if needed.

As described, an outer shell 10, whether it is equipped with an add-onhandle 127 or not, may be used with a flexible bag for storing andtransporting liquid, beverage or food. Such combination may also includeinsulation foam or sleeve to provide additional temperature managementof the liquid or food. If equipped with self-heating mechanism, thebag-box-foam-heating combination, with or without an add-on handle, canprovide a host of functions for the liquid, beverage or food industry.

Although the invention is described herein with reference to thepreferred embodiment, one skilled in the art will readily appreciatethat other applications may be substituted for those set forth hereinwithout departing from the scope of the present invention. Accordingly,the invention should only be limited by the claims included below.

1. A foldable beverage dispenser carton, comprising: an outer shellcomprising a top, a bottom, a front wall, a back wall, a pair ofsidewalls, and a sloped front wall, said sloped front wall joiningbetween said front wall and said top, said sloped front wall having anopening therein, each of said sidewalls being substantiallyperpendicular to said front and back walls; a flexible bag within saidouter shell defining an aperture; a fitment secured to said flexible bagsurrounding said aperture and said opening, defining a fluid path, saidfitment being sized and shaped such that fluid can be poured throughsaid fitment; a plurality of upper flaps foldably connected to saidsidewalls, said front wall, and said back wall, said plurality of upperflaps forming at least a portion of said top, and said upper flapsconnected to said front wall and to said back wall forming at least aportion of said sloped front wall, and a plurality of lower flapsfoldably connected to said sidewalls, said front wall and said backwall, forming at least a portion of said bottom.
 2. A foldable beveragedispenser carton of claim 1, wherein: said flexible bag is a selfheating bag, having an actuator; said back wall has a first opening,which is sized and shaped such that it can be used as a handle by auser; said back wall has a second opening to provide access to saidactuator.
 3. A foldable beverage dispenser carton of claim 2, furthercomprising: an insulation layer, positioned between said flexible bagand inside of said outer shell.
 4. A foldable beverage dispenser cartonof claim 3, wherein said insulation layer is a foam liner bag positionedbetween said flexible bag and the inside of said outer shell.
 5. Afoldable beverage dispenser carton of claim 3, wherein said insulationlayer is a foam liner laminated on the inside of said outer shell.
 6. Afoldable beverage dispenser carton of claim 3, wherein: said top has aplurality of openings therein, which are sized and shaped to provideanchor support for an add-on handle.
 7. A foldable beverage dispensercarton of claim 6, wherein said opening on said sloped front wall is anoversized opening overlapping an undersized opening such that saidfitment can reach through and be secured to said opening.
 8. A foldablebeverage dispenser carton of claim 7, wherein said bottom is formed byone of auto lock and glue lock.
 9. A foldable beverage dispenser cartonof claim 2, wherein said flexible bag is supported within said shell atsaid bottom and said opening.
 10. A foldable beverage dispenser cartonof claim 9, wherein: said front wall and said back wall have a narrowwidth than said sidewalls
 11. A foldable liquid container, comprising:an outer shell, comprising a front wall, a pair of sidewalls, a backwall, a top, a bottom, and a sloped front wall joining between said topand said front wall, said sloped front wall having an opening therein; aflexible bag within said outer shell having an aperture; a fitmentsecured to said aperture and said opening, defining a fluid path andsupporting said flexible bag; a plurality of upper flaps extending fromsaid sidewalls, said front wall and said back wall, at least one of saidplurality of upper flaps forming at least a portion of said top whenfolded, a least one of said plurality of upper flaps forming at least aportion of said sloped front; a plurality of lower flaps extending fromsaid sidewalls, said front wall and said sidewalls, forming said bottom.12. A foldable liquid container of claim 11, wherein: said flexible bagis a self-heating bag, having an actuator; said back wall furthercomprises a punched-in opening, which is sized and shaped to provide ahandle; said back wall further comprises an closeable opening, toprovide access to said actuator.
 13. A liquid container, comprising: anouter shell having a top side, a bottom side, a front side, a back sideand an angled front wall joining said top side and said front side, saidouter shell having an opening on said angled front wall; an openingformed by punching in a predetermined cut-out on said back side, saidopening being sized and shape to provide a handling point; a flexibleself-heating bag inside said outer shell, said flexible bag having anaperture, said flexible bag having an actuation lead; an insulationlayer positioned in-between at least a portion of the inside of saidouter shell and the outside of said flexible bag; a fitment removablycoupled to said aperture and to said opening, defining a fluid path. 14.A liquid container of claim 13, wherein said back side also has acloseable opening to provide access to said actuation lead of said bag.15. A liquid container of claim 13, wherein said insulation layer is afoam layer laminated onto the inside of said outer shell.
 16. A liquidcontainer of claim 14, wherein said opening on said sloped front wall isformed with an oversized opening and an undersized opening, saidoversized opening allowing said fitment to reach through, saidundersized opening locking onto said fitment after it reaches through.17. A foldable liquid container, comprising: a single piece of blank ina collapsed state, said blank being foldable along predetermined foldlines to form an outer shell comprising: a front wall with upper andlower flaps; a back wall, with upper and lower flaps, said back wallhaving predetermined punch-out line for at least one opening; a pair ofside walls, with upper and lower flaps; a top side, formed by said upperflaps from front, back and sidewalls; a bottom side, formed by saidlower flaps from said front, back and sidewalls; a sloped front walljoining between said top side and said front wall, said sloped frontwall having an opening, said sloped front wall formed by said upperflaps from said front wall and said back wall; a flexible self-heatingbag within said outer shell, said bag having an aperture, said aperturebeing aligned to said opening on said sloped front wall, said bag havingan activation control leading out through said closeable opening on saidback wall; an insulation layer between said flexible bag and the insideof said outer shell; a fitment secured to said aperture and through saidopening on said sloped front wall, defining a fluid path.
 18. A foldableliquid container of claim 17, wherein said insulation layer ispre-laminated onto at least a portion of the inside of said outer shell.19. The foldable liquid container of claim 17, wherein said punch-outline on said back wall defines one opening such that a user's fingerscan reach through said opening to carry said liquid container.
 20. Amethod of making a foldable liquid container, comprising: preparing afoldable blank, said blank having predetermined fold lines and cut-outlines, said fold lines defining a front wall, a back wall, a pair ofsidewalls, a plurality of upper flaps extending from said front wall,said back wall and said sidewalls, a plurality of lower flaps extendingfrom said front wall, said back wall and said sidewalls, at least one ofsaid upper flaps forming a top side, at least one of said lower flapsforming a bottom side, at least one of said upper flaps defining anangled front wall joining between said front wall and said top, saidcut-out lines defining an opening on said angled front wall and anopening on said back wall; preparing a flexible bag, said bag having anaperture; folding said blank according to said fold lines, defining anerected outer shell; cutting said blank according to said cut-out lines;fitting said bag into said erected outer shell, aligning said apertureto said opening on said angled front wall, defining a fluid path;securing a fitment to said aperture and said opening.
 21. A method ofclaim 20, further comprising: fitting an insulation layer to at least aportion of the inside of said outer shell.
 22. A method of claim 21,wherein said fitting step comprises laminating said insulation layer.23. A method of claim 21, wherein said fitting step comprises providinga insulation bag between the inside of said outer shell and saidflexible bag.
 24. A method of claim 21, wherein said opening on saidback wall is sized and shaped to provide a carrying point for a user'sfingers.
 25. A method of claim 21, wherein said flexible bag is atemperature-maintaining bag, which is controllably activated by anactivation lead, and wherein said back wall further defines an accesswindow to allow said activation lead to reach out.
 26. A method of claim25, wherein said top side has a cut-out opening sized and shaped toprovide anchoring points for an add-on handle.
 27. A method of claim 21,wherein said opening on said angled front wall is formed by upper flapsfrom said front wall and said back wall, said opening defining anoversized opening overlapping an undersized opening, to allow saidfitment to reach through and to secured by said opening.